The BugAt Long Last Home
by everafterlove
Summary: Content in their marriage, Barnabas and Julia discover that surprises come in different ways. For each family is unique.


"The Bug/At Long Last Home"-( disclaimer: I do not own Dark Shadows.)

Barnabas Collins awoke slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He could feel his wife's gaze as he turned his head toward her. She was on her stomach, leaning on her elbows. Julia gave him an endearing smile. " Good morning, dear husband," she exclaimed brightly, kissing him tenderly.

" Good morning, my love!," he answered back with an adoring light in his eyes and in his smile. " How long have you been awake?"

" Oh, just long enough to admire your handsome visage," she purred.

" Julia Collins," he teased, grabbing her and turning her onto her back, " talk like that will get you into trouble!" She gasped and sighed as he began to nuzzle her throat, letting his large fingered hands roam sensuously over her. A few delicious moments later, he groaned, hiding his face against her soft auburn waves. " Darn, we have to get up soon and get dressed for work!"

She laughed at his rare use of this modern slang term. Pulling him closer, she replied, " No we don't, darling. It's Saturday. We don't have to get up for a long time, if we don't want to. It's only 6am."

Opening his eyes wide, he smiled and exclaimed, " Yes! I have forgotten. Oh, this is going to be a very interesting morning!" He began to grin wickedly at her as he proceeded to clarify his meaning, his tongue sliding slowly across her collarbone and ribcage, as she shuddered and giggled. " My, my!," he chuckled heartily. " It amazes me how much I can make you wiggle, my dear! I must be very good!," he bragged, continuing his sensual assault.

" Oh, you are!," she gasped, "...and you also have an inflated ego!"

" Indeed. If I do, it has been has been created by my very beautiful, talented, and devoted wife!," he returned, continuing their banter. He began to kiss her slowly and deliberately.

A couple of hours later, the satiated contented couple rose to shower and dress for the day, making their way down the stairs, arm in arm. As they stepped into the entry to the drawing room, they stopped abruptly, hearing an unfamiliar whirring sound. They looked in puzzlement at each other, then back into the room.

Suddenly from behind Barnabas's favorite chair by the fireplace, an indistinguishable object began to crawl menacingly toward them. Julia screamed and grabbed Barnabas, almost jumping up into his arms. They instinctively went around her protectively, his eyes widening in shock. He tried in vain to focus on the object in question. As it continued slowly toward them, Julia squealed, pressing them both back against the bannister.

It stopped. Barnabas bravely leaned forward, trying to examine it. The object looked oddly like a giant scarab beetle, like the ones in books about Egyptian lore he had read, but this thing was silver with big bulging blue eyes. He jumped back as it began to spin and whir, beep and whistle.

Disengaging himself gently from Julia's vise grip on his arms with a reassuring squeeze, he bent forward again to inspect the object on a closer level. It was some sort of mechanical thing. As he did so, David Collins raced out from behind the front window curtains, exclaiming gleefully, " I scared you didn't I?"

Barnabas straightened and glowering in irritation replied, " David!"

Before he could finish his thought, Julia approached, her arms folded, chin raised, her eyes narrowing, and admonished, " David Collins! Just what do you think you are doing?!" Noting the tone of her voice, David's face fell.

" Yes," Barnabas agreed, " answer Julia! What is that thing and what are you doing with it here?"

" I'm sorry if I frightened you. I didn't mean to make you mad. It's my school room project. We are studying electronics, gadgets, and things. Quentin helped me build it. He's very good at building things."

" We're not mad, David. It's good to have a project to keep you busy, but you must not go around frightening people. Promise me you won't frighten anyone else." Barnabas placed a hand on David's shoulder and smiled warmly at him.

" Okay," David answered contritely. " I just thought that I could get an A on this one!"

Barnabas and Julia exchanged amused glances as she rolled her eyes and said, " Well, you would certainly get one for effort! Have you shown this project to anyone else?...By the way, where in the world is Willie? We can usually hear him knocking about somewhere."

" I don't know," Barnabas answered, shaking his head.

" Willie's outside," David said. " He let me in a while ago and said he had to get more firewood. I did show Mrs. Johnson my bug. She was scared silly!," the teenager bragged.

" You shouldn't have done that, David," Barnabas chided. " She's very sensitive. You could have given her a heart attack. After all, you almost gave us one."

" I didn't meant to hurt anyone," David replied ruefully, with a look of concern.

" Of course not," Barnabas responded, smiling at him with genuine affection. " Just use a little constraint next time," he advised. Julia smiled too, having recovered from her terror.

" Well, I'd better get back home," David said. " Besides, I haven't shown anyone else, yet," he explained.

" Not even your father?," Julia asked with amusement, rolling her eyes at Barnabas knowingly.

Barnabas smiled back and advised David, " I don't think it's a good idea to show your father just yet. You know how angry he can get. Better to wait until you receive that A you are expecting. Then, you can show him why you did receive it."

" Yeah, I guess you're right," David shrugged. " I'd better go now."

" Actually, you may ride back with us," Julia responded. " Barnabas and I need to talk to your Aunt Elizabeth about some family heirlooms we found in the Old House attic."

Ushering David out before them, Barnabas took Julia's hand in his, entertwining their fingers firmly and smiling his egnimatic smile. This distant family he had found was unique( each one in their own way); dear Elizabeth-so kind, beautiful, and melancholy( much like his own mother); Roger-proud, serious, sometimes judgemental, but underneath it all quite devoted to those he loves; Carolyn-sweet, giddy, sometimes foolish; David-stubborn, precocious, yet intellegent, needing direction and love; Quentin-a loyal friend, sarcastic, his disappointment in life covered by his cynicism.

Then, there was Julia-his Julia-beautiful, intellegent, loyal, fierce, devoted. She alone had saved him from insanity and set him on the road back to happiness. She was his truest and final love.

They were his family now, as much a part of him as his first family had once been. He would do everything in his power to keep them safe, always, for he loved them dearly. He reflected once again that this is where he belonged, in this century, especially with this woman whose unconditional love and sacrifice had given him all that he would ever need. At long last, he was home.


End file.
